Gorillaz Figures
"CYMK" figures]] As with any gimmick-based musical troupe, Gorillaz are no strangers to the money-making marvels of marketing; offering products such as clothing, accessories, and - naturally - figures. Produced during phases one, two, and five, the majority of Gorillaz' figures have been considered "art toys" - a term coined by filthy toy collectors to excuse poor spending habits. Because of this, the figures have quickly skyrocketed in price - far exceeding their original price tags. As any seasoned fan can tell you, this is can be attributed to the fact Gorillaz fans can't have nice things. However, some sources claim - should you be true of heart, and pure of mind - one can still sometimes find a dusty, long abandoned Russel figure hidden among the forest of G.I.R. hoodies and My Chemical Romance undergarments crowding the aisles of your local Hot Topic... waiting to be freed. Art Asylum Gorillaz' first foray into the action figure market came with Art Asylum, a relatively small toy company known best for their Star Trek and Space Ghost: Coast to Coast lines. Asylum planned to offer a line of 10" Gorillaz figures, along with figural key chains. First revealed at the 2002 American Toy Fair, Asylum's figures distinctly resemble those later released by Kidrobot, likely serving as a direct inspiration. However, unlike Kidrobot's offerings, Asylum's figures would have come packaged with a handful of recognizable accessories, held within a uniquely designed box. Asylum would have also offered an Ape figure, resembling those seen in the Clint Eastwood music video. The following list details each figure, along with their respective accessories. * Ape - Unknown, likely none * [[Murdoc Niccals|'Murdoc']] - 2D Voodoo doll * [[Noodle|'Noodle']] - Guitar, amp, dog * 2D '-' 'Microphone, Bongo Ape * [[Russel Hobbs|'Russel]] - Unknown, likely none However, neither Asylum's figures, nor keychains, ever came to be. According to online listings from the time, the Ape was the first to be cancelled - with the rest of the band following soon after. These prototypes, spare the Ape, are now in the hands of a private collector. The Ape currently belongs to longtime collaborator Jamie Hewlett, and can be seen on display in photos of his office. tf02arta8.jpg|The Gorillaz booth at the 2002 American Toy Fair tf02arta9 (1).jpg tf02arta12.jpg|Murdoc tf02arta11.jpg|Noodle tf02arta13.jpg|2D tf02arta10.jpg|Russel News-ActionFigures.jpg|A blurb on Asylum's Gorillaz DadEbQGX4AAN9Lu.jpg Gproto1.jpg|Another angle of a figure's package Gproto2.jpg|The back of the package, revealing unique early prototypes of Murdoc and Noodle Kidrobot Following the cancellation of Asylum's Gorillaz line, Kidrobot took the reigns, creating lines of figures for both phases one and two. These figures came in a variety of redecos, being re-released many times. The run began with two series of 10" phase one themed figures,as well as an exclusive "DARE" themed Noodle. These figures came in individual boxes, along with sticker sheets. A chrome version of Noodle was planned to be sold as a San Diego Comic Con exclusive, but was never released. A Spacemonkey seems to have been at one point planned, as well, but never saw production. The following lists detail the differences between the aforementioned series, as well as their respective accessories. "Black" Series * Murdoc - Blue jeans * Noodle - Guitar / Red helmet stripes, blue "fist" jacket, blue shorts, blue shoes * 2D - Red "Shoot to Ill" shirt, blue shoelaces * Russel - Green hat, white "23 Clover" shirt, red sleeves, grey tape player, blue jeans, brown shoes "Red" Series * Murdoc - Dark blue jeans * Noodle - Guitar / Black helmet stripes, purple "clover" jacket, orange shorts, purple shoes * 2D - Yellow "Crows" shirt, red shoelaces * Russel- Grey hat, purple "OWL" shirt, white sleeves, red tape player, black shoes "DARE" Noodle * Guitar / Makeup, grey helmet stripes, white "basketball" jacket, white shorts, white shoes Chrome Noodle * White guitar / Chrome 2edsx.jpg|The "Black" series Gorillaz-Vinyl-Figures---Red-Edition 1024x1024.jpg|The "Red" series Noodle_Dare_Edition.jpg|"DARE" Noodle rrftadgsfb.jpg|Chrome Noodle Kidrobot continued to produce three series of smaller-scale phase two figures, this time consisting of entirely original sculpts. Each figures came in an individual box, along with accessories. The following lists detail the differences between the aforementioned series, as well as their respective accessories. "CYMK" Series * Murdoc - El Diablo / Black pupil, purple-on-red cape * Noodle - Guitar / Green hat, red handkerchief, blue shirt, white skirt, blue socks, white shoes * 2D - Microphone / White "3" shirt, blue jeans * Russel - Wrench, broken snare drum / Green hat, blue jacket, white shirt, grey pants, red/blue shoes "White" Series * Murdoc - El Diablo / White pupil, black-on-purple cape * Noodle - Guitar / Black hat, white handkerchief, black shirt, black shirt, black socks, black shoes * 2D - Microphone / Green shirt, dark blue jeans * Russel - Wrench, broken snare drum / Blue hat, light green jacket, green shirt, khaki pants, brown/blue shoes Two Tone * Murdoc - El Diablo / Black (yellow eyeballs) * Noodle - Guitar / Red * 2D - Microphone / Yellow * Russel - Wrench, broken snare drum / Blue GORILLAZ_2006+WHITE+EDITION+FIGURES-380983.jpg|The "White" series kidrobot_gorillaz_cmyk_1.jpg|The "CYMK" series You-could-win-this.jpg|The "Two Tone" series Appearances in Gorillaz media Gorillaz' figures have made a number of appearances throughout the band's history. Their first appearance was in the aptly named G-Bite, "Hey! Our Toys Have Arrived", in which Gorillaz can be seen playing with cartoon representations of themselves. Based on the short's release date, as well as the figure's poses and coloration, it can be assumed that these figures were based on the Art Asylum models. In the phase two version of Kong Studios, Kidrobot's phase one figures could be found scattered around the studio, serving as collectible items. Collecting all four figures would offer the visitor a coupon, discounting the purchase of the figures themselves. The "Two-Tone" figures were featured primarily in the live visual for Some Kind of Nature, appearing in stop-motion among jittering strings of lights. Two Russel figures can also be seen in the DoYaThing music video. In a promotional photo for Humanz, a phase one 2D figure can be seen in Gorillaz' studio. Rigged puppet versions of the phase two figures were used for the We Got The Power music video, appearing as the band "themselves" among a colorful festival of dancing toys and flashing lights. Trivia * A Stylo model was put into production by an unknown company during phase three, intended to be released to paid Gorillaz fan club members. However, following licensing issues, the model never saw development beyond the prototype stage. * Art Asylum/Kidrobot's phase one figures appear to be heavily based on Gorillaz' phase one CG models. * In a promotional photo for Humanz, a 2D figure can be seen with "Andy" written across it's back. This is a reference to the film Toy Story, as the character Andy often writes his name somewhere on the surface of his toys. * A set of Kidrobot's phase one figures can be found in Studio 13, including the aforementioned 2D. Oddly, the Noodle figure's arm has broken off. Gallery 372115887_1280x720.jpg|The "Two Tone" figures as seen in Some Kind of Nature 6rut.png|Kidrobot Russel figures as seen in DoYaThing TP6gjQN.jpg|The modified phase 2 figures seen in We Got The Power (on display in the Kong Solar Studio) Stylo_unreleased.jpg|The Stylo model prototype tumblr_nmv09qaMNV1u9e5leo1_540.jpg|A Kidrobot Murdoc model sheet tumblr_ns0tzbWmjK1u9e5leo1_540.jpg|A Kidrobot Noodle model sheet tumblr_nmuzf8Nrue1u9e5leo1_540.jpg|A Kidrobot 2D model sheet tumblr_oa8ctyUvcL1u9e5leo1_540.jpg|A Kidrobot Russel model sheet tumblr_noxsayk7JT1u9e5leo1_540.jpg|A Kidrobot Spacemonkey model sheet